Murder In Hampshire (Cluedo)

Member Name: Shazzy

Product:	Cluedo
Date:	20/03/02 (433 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You have to think which is unusual for a board game

Disadvantages: I hardly ever win

Just what was Reverend Green doing in the library with that candlestick? Or was it a spanner he was carrying? Not that I know for sure whether he was actually in the library, I’m just guessing. Perhaps the good reverend was sitting quietly in the kitchen eating cheese and pickle sandwiches for all I know. It may’ve been Colonel Mustard (would that be Coleman’s?) or Mrs Peacock that were fiddling with the candlestick in the library. Who knows?

I don’t much like board games. I think that’s because I was, and indeed still am, an only child. Neither of my parents ever wanted to play board games with me and playing them on your own isn’t much fun is it? You always know you’re going to win, and although I like winning (I rarely win at Cluedo, just so’s that’s said), it’s not the same if there’s no competition. Usually, when somebody suggests playing a board game, I turn my nose up and switch on the telly. Unless it’s Cluedo. I like Cluedo. I’m not very good at it though. I know what I’m supposed to do, but my deduction abilities aren’t up to scratch I’m afraid.

I suppose that’s why I like it though. It’s one of the few games I’ve seen where more than two people can participate, that actually demands some kind of brain activity to win. Unlike Monopoly, Eastenders and countless other board games we’ve got stashed away in the house somewhere, you don’t just chuck the dice, move the required amount of times and then do what it says on the card. There’s more to it than that.

So what happens then? Well, each participant chooses one of the six available characters. I usually like to be Mrs Peacock as she sounds kind of glamorous in an old-fashioned, eccentric sort of way, whereas Mrs White sounds more like a little old lady with grey hair who rides a bicycle with a basket on the front of it. If the bicycle had been painte
d purple with little daisies all over it, that’d be ok, but I doubt that it is. So I stick with Mrs Peacock. By the end of the game, I’m usually imagining that I AM the said lady, wandering around the manor, straight-backed, elegantly dressed in a long, flowing gown, shoulders adorned with a feather boa, bejewelled finger pointing accusingly.

Anyway, as you’ve probably guessed, this is a whodunnit game. Who killed Dr Black? Once everybody has a character, it’s now up to each of them to find out, through cunning methods of deduction, who did the murder, in which room they did it and with which instrument it was done. Was the poor fellow shot with the pistol? Throttled with the rope? Smacked on the head with the candlestick, lead piping or spanner? Or was he simply stabbed in the stomach with the dagger, leaving a nasty pool of blood on the Axminster?

There are 3 sets of cards. One set that consists of a card for each room in the manor, one set for each guest and one for each of the possible murder weapons. At the start of the game, one card from each set is taken out and hidden in an envelope. These cards represent the answer to the mystery. The remaining cards are divided amongst the players.

A dice is thrown and the first player moves from his spot on the edge of the board, taking the amount of steps decided by the dots on the dice (I bet you’d never have guessed that, would you?). He/she can move in any direction except diagonally, with the idea being to move in such a way that you can easily get into one of the rooms. Once in a room, the player “calls in” the character they believe could be the murderer (the characters playing piece is moved to the room) and the weapon they believe was used (also moved to the room). The room that they’re in is named as the location for the crime.

According to the rules, the player to the right of the “caller” must look at his/her card
s. If they have a card depicting either the room, guest or weapon named, they must show one of the cards (only one, mind) to the player that’s asking. If they have none, the enquiry moves to the next player. However, my family, and several others I know, play by choosing who they want to ask for the information. I think that’s better because sometimes you have an idea that somebody knows more than they’re letting on, sort of thing. Anyway, if a card is shown then obviously it isn’t in the envelope and can’t be part of the answer to the mystery. By making notes along the way you should be able to solve the murder.

When a player believes that he/she knows the answer, they make their accusation. The cards are then removed from the envelope by the accuser. If he/she is correct, the cards are shown and the game has been won (whoopee). If not, the cards are returned to the envelope and the game continues. However, the accuser cannot make any further accusations and is only in the game to show cards when and if necessary.

Phew!

Cluedo first hit the market in 1949, after a solicitor’s clerk from Leeds, one Anthony Pratt, had invented it through boredom. It was a way of passing the time during air raids. Pratt’s wife designed the board.

The game, which they originally called “Murder”, was so popular amongst their friends that they took it along to Waddingtons where they played it with the executives (can you imagine that?) who agreed to produce the game. At the time, Ludo was a popular game (why?) so a play on words was used to name the game. As the idea was to collect clues, the game was given the name CLUEDO.

Almost sixty years have passed since then and sadly, Mr Pratt has passed away. But Cluedo still lives on as one of the world’s most popular board games, being sold in 70 countries. There have been lots of spin-offs along the way, including card-games, jigsaws, a v
ersion for younger children, a computer version and even a TV series. I didn’t watch the TV series because I didn’t live here during the early 90’s, but there was one. I’ve heard several people say so and there’s even a list of episodes on the web.

Some of the more observant amongst you will have noticed that, according to my title, the murder took place in Hampshire. How do I know? Well, the 2000 edition of the game has a newspaper on the front cover. On this newspaper it says ”The eminent anthropologist and man of letters Dr Black was found dead last night at his Hampshire home…”. Doesn’t take much of a detective to work that one out does it?

So there you go. If you fancy trying your hand at being a master slueth, get yourself a game of Cluedo.

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